a Cross country and rowing success story.

I've started reading Rowing News magazine, which is an _excellent_
publication - sort of like Master Skier but with fancy binding and
lots of nice pictures, and a $40 per year price. Lots of the articles
apply well to skiers too. For instance, Nancy Clark the sports
nutritionist writes a column.

One short feature that really caught my eye was about Alison Crocker.
I hope they won't sue me for sharing it.

The Real Thing:
Dartmouth college freshman Alison Crocker is uniquely qualified to end
that age-old aerobic stalemate: which is the better all-round
activity, rowing or cross-country skiing? "You get a few different
muscles from rowing but you're still fit." Crocker says
diplomatically. She should know. The 19-year-old Poughkeepsie, NY
native has powered to international heights in both sports,
representing the US at junior world championships in both sports. And
while her best results have so far come on the water - a bronze in the
eight at the 2002 junior worlds in Lithuania - Crocker is betting her
first Olympic appearance will be on the trails of Turin, Italy in
2006.

The Race Plan:
Crocker was 10th overall and the top junior at this year's US ski
nationals, which puts her on track to crack the magical top six
ranking required for an Olympic ticket. It was a performance that
earned her a trip to February's junior worlds in Stryn, Norway where
she finished mid-pack in the women's 15k classic race, 5k skate, and
1.5k sprint. That she did this after a split season of
intercollegiate skiing and rowing gives her hope that specializing in
a single discipline will lead to better results. "The level of
dedication that I need to get the skiing to try to make the Olympic
team precludes rowing." says Crocker, who does not rule our a return
to the water if her hot streak on skis starts to cool. "My body was
so shot I realized it wasn't helping."

What She Says:
"The sports work together so well." advises Crocker, who prefers
skiing's multiple-hour sessions to the intensity training required for
2,000-meter rowing. "the worst part about them working together is
that if you're in an area where you can ski, the ice melts late."

What They Say:
"There was no way with her experience at the time that she was ready
to make the junior national team." says Robbie Tenenbaum, Crocker's
coach at the 2002 world juniors in Lithuania. "She was just in such
fantastic shape that she had to be in there. And the rowing got better
and better as the summer went on."

I've done some roller skiing with Alison. Believe me when you think of
Poughkeepsie, skiing is the last thing that comes to mind. Rowing tes, and
maybe shad roe too. She was a dedicated snow chaser. The city of
Poughkeepsie, on the Hudson gets about 30 inches of snow a year probably,
and groomed trails are almost always at least one hour away.

I guess that she really is close to breaking into the international race
scene. It's that last step that is probably the toughest.

Thanks for sharing this, and sorry about the top post.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

"Erik Brooks" wrote in message
news:000b01c42ed8$beb541a0$6401a8c0@Merlin...
I've started reading Rowing News magazine, which is an _excellent_
publication - sort of like Master Skier but with fancy binding and
lots of nice pictures, and a $40 per year price. Lots of the articles
apply well to skiers too. For instance, Nancy Clark the sports
nutritionist writes a column.

One short feature that really caught my eye was about Alison Crocker.
I hope they won't sue me for sharing it.

The Real Thing:
Dartmouth college freshman Alison Crocker is uniquely qualified to end
that age-old aerobic stalemate: which is the better all-round
activity, rowing or cross-country skiing? "You get a few different
muscles from rowing but you're still fit." Crocker says
diplomatically. She should know. The 19-year-old Poughkeepsie, NY
native has powered to international heights in both sports,
representing the US at junior world championships in both sports. And
while her best results have so far come on the water - a bronze in the
eight at the 2002 junior worlds in Lithuania - Crocker is betting her
first Olympic appearance will be on the trails of Turin, Italy in
2006.

The Race Plan:
Crocker was 10th overall and the top junior at this year's US ski
nationals, which puts her on track to crack the magical top six
ranking required for an Olympic ticket. It was a performance that
earned her a trip to February's junior worlds in Stryn, Norway where
she finished mid-pack in the women's 15k classic race, 5k skate, and
1.5k sprint. That she did this after a split season of
intercollegiate skiing and rowing gives her hope that specializing in
a single discipline will lead to better results. "The level of
dedication that I need to get the skiing to try to make the Olympic
team precludes rowing." says Crocker, who does not rule our a return
to the water if her hot streak on skis starts to cool. "My body was
so shot I realized it wasn't helping."

What She Says:
"The sports work together so well." advises Crocker, who prefers
skiing's multiple-hour sessions to the intensity training required for
2,000-meter rowing. "the worst part about them working together is
that if you're in an area where you can ski, the ice melts late."

What They Say:
"There was no way with her experience at the time that she was ready
to make the junior national team." says Robbie Tenenbaum, Crocker's
coach at the 2002 world juniors in Lithuania. "She was just in such
fantastic shape that she had to be in there. And the rowing got better
and better as the summer went on."